Pope Francis is “Worried” About Gay Priests and Lesbian Nuns

Pope Francis has expressed concern about homosexuality in the Catholic Church, and doesn’t believe LGBTQ people have a place in the clergy.

In a book-length interview with Spanish priest Fernando Prado, called The Strength of Vocation, Francis said homosexuality “is something that worries me,” inside the Church, and that he thinks it best that those with “this rooted tendency not be accepted into [priestly] ministry or consecrated life.” That also applies to women hoping to become nuns.

The book is set to be published in several languages this week, with an advanced copy obtained by Reuters.

He called the issue “a very serious one,” and noted that those who seek to join the priesthood are vetted to ensure they are “humanly and emotionally mature” before they can be ordained.

Francis also said priests and nuns who are gay would be better off if they “leave the priesthood or the consecrated life rather than live a double life,” calling on them to remain celibate, as is the requirement for all those in the clergy.

The interview was conducted back in August, less than two weeks prior to Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former Vatican personnel chief and later ambassador to the U.S., claiming there existed a “homosexual network” in the Vatican, with gay priests working to advance one another’s careers. The Vatican denied that allegation, saying it was filled with “calumny and defamation.”

Earlier this year, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse, Juan Carlos Cruz, said Francis told him in a private meeting that God made him gay, and reassured him that both God and the pope loved him that way.

While the Catholic Church does not teach that it is sinful to be gay in and of itself, it does hold that it is sinful to have gay sex.